Ranma the Warrior
by waaaaaaah
Summary: An accident sends Ranma into the Redwallverse during the timeframe of Martin the Warrior.
1. Prologue, part 1

**A/N: A big thank you goes to Brightpath2, who is directly responsible for the creation of this story by way of inspiration!**

**I tried to reduce as much as possible the parts copied from the book. Future chapters will have hopefully contain less part directly copied from the book.**

"Haha, take this Runn!"  
SWISH! "Missed me Bagg! You couldn't hit-"  
SPLAT! "Oi c'n. 'ere, 'ave summ 'ore!".  
FWOOSH! WHIZ! ZOOP!  
The otter twins, Bagg and Runn, and their molefriend Grubb, were having their 47th snowball fight of the winter. So far, the score lay at Grubb-40, Bagg-3, and Runn-2. One had ended in a draw when Mother Mellus, tired of snow narrowly missing her, came round and curb-stomped them all. The 3 friends quickly agreed to take their snowball fights elsewhere, and were currently a short distance outside of Redwall Abbey.  
"You call that a throw? My grandmother could throw better than you!"  
WHOOSH! "Ha, that's my grandmother too! Here, take this here snowball and take back what you said!"  
SPLAT! SPLOOSH! "Bowth o' you'm taken moi liddle pursends!"  
"Hoho Grubb, let me give you a present of my own!"  
The three laughing friends failed to see three travelers trudging along nearby, and they kept on throwing snowballs at each other, right up until it hit one of them.  
"Ouch! Watch where you're throwing those!"  
One of the travelers, a young mousemaid, wiped the snow off her face, and glared at the combatants. All three of them felt sorry for what happened, so they decided to apologize to her. "We'm zurry 'bout 'urtin you'm wid dat znowbawl."  
"Sorry for the snowball hurting you."  
"We're really sorry that you got hurt."  
One of the other travelers, a large sturdy hedgehog, chuckled a bit, and said to the mousemaid, "Well Amia, can you forgive these young rascals?"  
Amia drew herself up, and with a smirk on her face, said, "Not until they get a face full of snow!"  
And with that, she quickly bent down, gathered some snow, and threw it at the three friends. SPLAT! SPLOOSH! WHIZ!  
Bagg and Runn, a bit slow on the uptake, both got a face full of snow. Grubb managed to dodge it, and said, "Oi'll get'n you'm mizzy!" And he picked some snow up and threw it at her.  
Amia giggled, dodged Grubb's well aimed snowball and replied, "You'll have to catch me first!"  
The last traveler, a very pretty mousemaid, turned away from the ensuing fight to the hedgehog, and said, "Well Bultip, should we have let Amia some fun before we continue on to Redwall?", with a twinkle in her eye.  
Bultip grinned. "Aye Aubretia. It's been a while since she's had some competition."  
The two watched the fight turn quickly from a free-for-all into a three-on-one. Amia dodged, ducked, and threw snowballs with great accuracy, and so forced Bagg, Runn, and Grubb to work together.  
SPLAT! "Haha, got your tail there missy!  
SPLAT! "And I got your left paw, hehe! Now watch this one hit your right shoulder!"  
SPLOOSH! "Argh! I'll give it to you!"  
SPLAT! "Matey, you hit me instead! Grubb, let's give her the two-for-one special!"  
SPLAT! SPLAT! "Oi got'n 'ee!"  
"Why you...!"  
Amia started to glow with a faint blue light. Upon seeing this, Bultip called out to her in a stern voice, "That's enough Amia!"  
Amia ducked another snowball with a sheepish expression on her face, and stopped glowing. Bagg, Runn, and Grubb just stared.  
"Well now," said Bultip with a smile. "This has been fun, but I'm afraid we must go. We're bound for a place called Redwall Abbey."  
"Redwall Abbey?", said Bagg, dropping a snowball. "It's jus' round that bend, sir. We live there." And he pointed a mittened paw in the direction of the path.  
Bultip looked around, and spotted a beech log lying nearby. "Since we're headed that way, why don't I give you a ride there on that beech log. Amia and Aubretia, you too."  
And he took a rope from his pack, and lashed it to the log. Bagg, Runn, Grubb, Amia, and Aubretia all clambered aboard.  
"Hey mister, can you pull all of us?" asked Runn?  
Bultip laughed. "Oh, I'm sure I'll manage. By the way, my name's Bultip. That there is Aubretia, and you've already met Amia."  
"I'm Runn, this here's my twin Bagg, and that is Grubb."  
"Hello there."  
"Pleezed 't meetcher".  
"Likewise," smiled Aubretia.  
"Nice to meet you!" Amia said excitedly.  
Bultop then hefted the rope over his shoulders and began to pull. He trekked through the snow, dragging both log and passengers along with him with no visible effort.

Redwall Abbey always looked wonderful; each season gave it a different look. Winter gave it the appearance of a giant cake; the snow covering the walls resembled the frosting, the red walls cherries and the cake itself. And the icicles? The sugary bits that decorate it.

Abbot Saxtus and old Simeon, leaning on a hawthorne stick, were standing in the courtyard, gazing up at the main building. Simeon sighed, and said to the Abbot, "Even though I cannot see it, I know Redwall is always magnificent."

The Abbot nodded. "Indeed. Such were the words of our old friend Abbot Bernard. No matter what the season."  
They stood there for a while. Then Simeon held up a paw. "I can feel somebeasts coming. It's hard to tell how many, but I would guess three or four".  
They walked out of the open main gates, and onto the path in front. Saxtus watched until he saw the party approaching.  
"It looks like our three young troublemakers, Bagg, Runn, and Grubb, have finished their daily snowball fight. There are three travelers coming along with them."  
Simeon tapped his stick on the snow excitedly. "Wonderful! We'll have new stories to listen to in Cavern Hole tonight!"

As Bultip rounded the bend, Redwall Abbey came into full view. Bultip, Aubretia, and Amia gasped in awe at the sight of Redwall Abbey. Ahead of them stood Abbot Saxtus and Simeon.  
"Welcome to Redwall Abbey, travelers," the Abbot said to them, after they had dismounted from the beech log. "You must be weary after your journey. I am Abbot Saxtus. Please, enter," greeted the Abbot. He then turned, and started walking towards the main building. Aubretia and Bultip followed; Amia dashed off after Bagg, Runn, and Grubb, already leaving, without a second thought.  
"Amia! Come back here!" Aubretia called out after her, but she was already gone.  
"It seems that your Amia is quite taken with our young troublemakers," remarked Simeon. "They must have made quite an impression on her."  
Aubretia let out a breath she'd been holding. "Yes, she looked quite impressed by their little snowball fight. I just hope that she isn't getting into any mischief."  
"Don't worry," the Abbot said, "Those three will likely keep her in check. May I ask your names?"  
"I'm Aubretia," the mousemaid replied. "And he's Bultip," she said, pointing at her hedgehog companion. "Amia is the one who just ran off."  
"You already know my name," said the Abbot. "And this here is Simeon," indicating the blind old herbalist. "Would you like us to show you two around Redwall?" he asked. "It is a rather beautiful place."  
"We would love to," said Aubretia. "But wouldn't that take you away from your duties?"  
"Nonsense," smiled the Abbot. "At a time like this, there isn't much for an Abbot like me to do, as we're preparing for the Midwinter Feast. Besides, it would be a crime not show a pretty mousmaid like yourself and her traveling companion around."  
Aubretia giggled. "Well said Father," said Bultip. "Where do we start?"  
"Well, see this belltower? Now there's quite a story to it..."

While Aubretia and Bultip were being shown around Redwall, Bagg, Runn, and Grubb were giving Amia a tour of their own.  
"..and that's where we keep our stash of candied chestnuts," Bagg said proudly. He and Runn had worked hard to sneak them out under Friar Cockleburr's nose.  
Amia's eyes were wide."Wow! My parents don't let me do that!"  
"Noither duz owr Muther Mellus," chuckled Grubb.  
Runn took Amia's paw rather gallantly. "And now, let me show you our secret hiding places..."

Aubretia and Bultip were standing in front of a tapestry, staring in awe.  
"Amazing," Aubretia murmured.  
The tapestry showed two Abbey Warriors of legend. On the left was a mouse clad in armor. On the right was another mouse with a pigtail, dressed in a strange, but simple clothes, and striking a pose.  
"So that's Martin and Ranma," Bultip breathed. "We've heard stories, but never seen any likenesses that depicted the two of them together. Nobeast could stand in their way."  
"Indeed," said Abbot Saxtus. "Especially when the life of an innocent was at stake."  
Looking at the two, both Aubretia and Bultip could certainly imagine it.

After their tours, Aubretia, Amia, and Bultip were shown to their respective rooms by the Foremole. Once they had rested, washed, and changed into more suitable clothes, they came down to Cavern Hole for the feast. Aubretia was offered places by mice vying for her attention, but instead sat with the Abbot, Simeon, and Bultip. Amia sat next to her new friends, who were explaining to her what hotroot pepper was.  
The moment grace had been finished, Bultip started chowing down. He had some nutbread, a vegetable pastie, and quenched his thirst with a tankard of Redwall October ale. Aubretia tried something called fizzy dandelion cup, a delicious drink full of tiny bubbles, while Simeon astounded them with his keen perception of their occupations, Aubretia being a healer, and Bultip a warrior. Both joined in the merriment, enjoyed the food, and basked in the legendary hospitality of Redwall Abbey.

On another table, Amia was piling hotroot pepper in her soup. The others had told her how hot it was, and that she probably couldn't handle any. Well, she was going to show them, and make them eat their words.  
"Are you ready for this?" asked Bagg.  
"I was born ready," smirked Amia, and started to eat the hotroot soup.  
Three seconds later...  
"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!" Amia gasped. "HOOOOOOOOOOT!"  
She quickly downed some cold strawberry cordial, which seemed to help a bit.  
The three friends chuckled. "Wudd 'ee loik summ 'ore?" asked Grubb innocently.  
Amia glared at them. Then, in an undignified manner, with her mouth still afire, she lifted the bowl to her mouth and started to drink the rest.  
Bagg, Runn, and Grubb just stared.

After Amia had cooled down a bit, the others ladled soup into their bowls and began putting a LOT of hotroot pepper inside.

"Ready?" asked Amia.  
"Ready!" the others said in excited tones.  
"GO!"

The night grew long. Little ones had already been put to bed, but many others were still awake, chattering to each other across tables mostly empty of food.  
"That was such a wonderful feast," said Aubretia. "I've never seen such wonderful food before."  
"Neither have I," added Bultip. "All Redwall feasts must certainly be legendary." He nibbled on his fourth pastie.  
Simeon chuckled. "Indeed. How are you feeling my friend?"  
"Satisfied," answered Bultip, "and wide awake." He glanced around at the other tables. "And from the looks of it, nearly everybeast else here. Doesn't anybeast sleep?"  
"Normally, most of us would already be asleep", explained Abbot Saxtus. "but as it is currently winter, none of us have to get up early to work. All we do eat and sleep; we eat when we're hungry, and sleep when we're sleepy. A pleasant state of affairs."  
Aubretia heaved a sigh of contentment. "So what happens now that we're done?"  
Foremole looked up from his turnip'n'tater'n'beetroot pie. "You'm travellen beasts, may'ap you'm gotten gudd stories to tell us'ns mizzy. We'm 'eard all our tales ten 'undred toimes o'er. An' we'm been 'earen 'nother travellen beast's stories sense larst season. Tunget o'er thurr," he pointed a digging claw at a mouse at another table, "allus 'as gudd'ns, but et's refureshen t' 'ear summ other beast's story."  
Cushions, chairs, and other furniture meant for sitting were dragged out and arranged in a half-circle near the big fireplace. Fresh logs were placed inside. Almost all of the Redwallers currently awake were gathered there; a few went to sleep, as they were so tired they could barely keep their eyes open. Aubretia and Bultip were given nicely carved highback chairs from which they would tell their story. The audience settled down, eagerly awaiting the tale from the travelers.  
"While Bultip and I walked through your beautiful Abbey," the mousemaid began, "we saw a tapestry depicting two mice. I recognized them as Martin the Warrior, and Ranma the Ageless. From what I know, Martin is the guiding spirit of this place, and Ranma trains every so often an Abbey Champion; both are founders of the Abbey. What do you know about them?"  
"Not much, I'm afraid," said Abbot Saxtus. "Martin always guides us through times of trouble. The last time we were privy to his presence, it when two of our young ones, Dandin and Mariel, were here. Unfortunately, Since they left a season and a half ago, his presence has vanished. And Ranma has not been seen since Simeon was a babe. Very little of their lives has been recorded. I dearly wish we knew more."  
A smile flickered around Aubretia's lips. She leaned forward, and looked directly at her audience.  
"So you will, as I have an exceptional tale to give over..."


	2. Prologue, part 2

**A/N: Thanks to Brightpath2 again for looking over this chapter. An even bigger thanks goes to BlackDragon6, whose stories inspired Ranma fanfiction, and whose input on this chapter resulted in it being much better than it would have been. Read his stories, they're great :)**  
**One last thanks to a friend of mine, for were it not for a conversation we had, this story could have taken a bad turn.**

**The basic idea of how Ranma gets sent to the Redwallverse is derived from a plot device in Tigee86's story, Ranma Saotome Doesn't Miyah! I asked him already if I could use it, and he gave his permission, though it's not quite the same. There are also some nods to other pieces of fiction here as well. Try to see if you can list them all :)**

**Disclaimer: I need to do this, right? Anyways, Redwall is owned by Brian Jaqcues, R.I.P., and Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi.**

"Where am I now?" muttered Ryoga.  
Ryoga was known as the Lost Boy, although he himself was unaware of his moniker. Whenever he traveled somewhere, it would take him several days at best to arrive. At worst? Well, let's not go there.  
Now, Ryoga wasn't stupid. Sure, he was a bit of an idiot, but even idiots can recognize threats to their wellbeing. And currently, Ryoga was experiencing one.  
It wasn't a _current_ threat to his wellbeing per se...more like a _potential_ threat. Ryoga was inside of a mad scientist's laboratory. He could see vials of bubbling liquid, them being a variety of colors. There was a tower that crackled with electricity. And a few cages filled with something that looked like mutated wolves, who made very frightening noises.  
This wasn't a place you wanted to be found, even for someone with the fighting skill of his caliber, Mad scientists had a way of creating the most horrifying accidents known to man. And Ryoga did NOT look forward to battling a creature from the Dungeon Dimensions. Those things had a nasty penchant for sucking out your soul - right before they dry-humped your dead carcass.  
To be honest though, he shouldn't have been surprised. Lately, his travels had taken...well, an _odd_ turn. First there had been a village that he saved from a barbarian warlord. Then he had an encounter with an evil wizard, whose tower currently lay in ruins, and whose spell had turned him into a pig (and who was very surprised to see said pig turn into a human when he attempted to cook him as dinner). Now this.  
He desparately hoped that mini-skirted magical girls weren't next.  
This had to be Ranma's fault.  
'I'd better get out of here,' thought Ryoga. 'The last thing I need is for some animal to get loose, or something to explode. Or even worse, get splashed with water'. He began to search for a way out, moving through different rooms, each filled with their own horrors, like twitching bodies, gigantic spiders and reading glasses.  
"heeihHAHAHAHAHAHA! It is finally complete!"  
'Oh god, it's him!' thought Ryoga frantically. The maniacal laughter was freaking him out; he had to get out of here! He quickly moved in the opposite direction of the voice, dodging a table filled with blueprints and half-finished devices. Unfortunately,fate had different ideas for Ryoga, and as he rounded a corner of a corridor stacked with cans of tomato paste, he found himself standing a few feet away a laughing man.  
The laughing man was wearing a long, white coat that all mad scientists wore. He was tall for a Japanese man, had black hair that stuck up in places, and a mullet. The man was facing away from Ryoga, standing next to a table with many tools, and some sort of box on it. Ryoga stood in place, frozen in fear.  
The mad scientest suddenly whipped out a large, blocky cellphone, and began talking into it:  
"So, what do you think now? I've done the impossible, and created the device to enter other universes! You're too late! The Conspiracy can't stop me! heeihHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  
Ryoga slowly started to back away from the mad scientist, his mind racing and heart palpitating. If this was true, then all he needed to do was find a place to hide so he could take it. For on one hand, this would be his best chance to separate fair Akane permanently from Ranma, who didn't deserve her. But on the other, he might be caught by the mad scientist, and really have to fight for his life. Plus, he might accidentally destroy the device.  
'Both have their merits,' Ryoga mused. 'But if I don't do anything to get rid of Ranma, then I myself wouldn't be deserving of her.' Mind made up, Ryoga turned around slowly to leave and find a hiding place. Unfortunately for him, his pack brushed against the cans of tomato paste, some of which fell to the floor and clanged loudly.  
Oops.  
The mad scientist stopped laughing and whipped his head around. His face had the expression of, 'Oh look, there's another bug I have to kill'. Ryoga didn't dare move, hoping that he might still get out of this without being vaporized.  
"So," he said, "is the Conspiracy so desperate as to send a martial arts bumpkin to stop me?"  
Ryoga was astounded, and that pulled him out of his paralysis. "How can you tell?" he asked suspiciously, heart pounding. "You don't look like a martial artist."  
"A force of destruction knows one from another," the mad scientist replied. "I can tell that you've done intense training and been through hell. Your eyes say it all, even if your demeanor does not. To fight you would be a major hassle for me right now. But let me tell you: you won't bring me in alive. At least, not without a fight." And he pulled out a rather large alien-looking gun, which started to glow an unearthly green.  
Ryouga laughed nervously. "I'm not part of this 'Conspiracy' that you're talking about. Really. I'm just trying to find my way back to Tokyo, and get rid of my rival."  
The mad scientist looked at him carefully. Then he lowered the gun. And laughed. "heeihHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  
"Of course you aren't!" he laughed manically. "The Conspiracy would never take in an idiot like you!"  
Ryoga sweatdropped. "Can I go now? Please?"  
"No...or rather yes," the mad scientist replied. "You can go...if you take my new device with you. To field test it. I could get wonderful, sweet data when used by an idiot like you. heeihHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  
Ryoga's sweatdrop grew bigger. 'I'm not sure what I'm more afraid of: him, or the way he's using me.'  
The mad scientist then showed Ryoga how to operate the device correctly, carefully describing each and every function to him to ensure the best posible test run. Ryoga remained silent during his instruction, already plotting to get his ultimate revenge on Ranma.  
"...and don't forget that the Universe Shifter™ is a delicate device! There's only so much it can take before it explodes and leaves a hole in the fabric of reality!"  
Ryoga sweatdropped again. "Um, sure. By the way, this device is safe, isn't it?"  
"Of course it is!" replied the mad scientist. "Why do you ask?"  
"Well," Ryoga responded, "There is the fact that you haven't tested it yet."  
"Oh, don't bother me with silly things such as testing the device beforehand," said the mad scientist dismissively. "I'll have you know that ALL my creations are perfectly safe!"  
'That does it.' "I'm outta here," said Ryoga calmly, and he left the area, while the mad scientist watched him go.  
"Onashi Rintaro shall not be denied! heeihHAHAHAHAHA!"  
Ryoga came back. "Which way is the exit?" he asked.  
"It's that way."  
"Thank you."

Several weeks later...  
"RANMA, YOU BAKA!"  
The pig-tailed boy dodged a mallet that came seemingly from nowhere. While walking along with Akane to school, Shampoo had hit him with her bicycle while out on her deliveries. She'd immediately glomped him, which consequently sent Akane into a jealous state, and as a result attempted to pound the crap out of him. Honestly, when would she learn that unwanted contact does not a pervert make?  
"I told you, it's not what it looks like!"  
"Shut up, you pervert!" yelled Akane, as she attempted to land a solid blow.  
"Why don't you make me, you uncute tomboy!", Ranma shouted back, and he stuck out his tongue at Akane, which only served to make her much angrier. She threw the mallet at him, which flew with the force of a bomb. Unfortunately for Ranma, it hit his face.  
CRAAAAAAAAAACK!  
Ranma Saotome entered Low Earth Orbit, courtesy of Akane Airlines. It was actually quite pleasant, looking at the scenery while sailing through the air. Today's hit wasn't a record maker though. He'd need to wind her up some more before she'd get THAT angry.  
His flight continued for another thirty seconds, at which point he started to descend. The speed at which he was traveling was too great for him to make a smooth landing, and so when he was low enough, he plowed into a building that happened to be in his flight path.  
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!  
He left a Ranma-sized hole in his wake. His flight ended in the kitchen of a family eating breakfast, who after a moment's notice, paid him no attention. This was Nerima after all.  
Ranma got up, dusted himself off, and walked out through the hole into the street. He was in no mood to hurry back, only to be dragged into some other altercation. Maybe he could just enjoy a rare moment where he was left alone.  
"RANMA SAOTOME!"  
Ranma groaned, and turned his head in the direction of the voice. Ryoga Hibiki stood on the top of a nearby building, with his back to the sun. In his hand, he held some sort of box with lots of little lights on it, and some sort of hole in the middle.  
"Finally!" he announced triumphantly, "I have found a way to get rid of you once and for all, Ranma Saotome. Prepare to be launched into another universe!" And so he pressed a button on the box.  
If Ryoga had said something along the lines of, 'Prepare to be turned into a fuzzy bunny', then Ranma would have been too confused to do anything. However, this was on par with what he usually had to deal with, and so Ranma almost reflexively dodged a black ray that shot out. It hit a nearby wall, which wavered a bit, turned fuzzy, then disappeared.  
Oh boy. It would not do Ranma any good to be hit by that.  
"Ryoga! No need to start sending things into other universes!" Ranma called out.  
"Shut up, Saotome!" Ryoga roared, and fired another ray at Ranma. He dodged it easily, but this time it hit a nearby fire hydrant.  
WHOOOOOOSH!  
A massive geyser of water burst from a hole in the ground which the hydrant, until now, had been covering. Ranma's eyes widened, and he just managed to evade changing into a girl. Why couldn't he ever catch a break! He quickly vacated the area, with Ryoga still firing his Universe Shifter™  
"Ranma! Take a hit like a man!"  
"That's pretty funny, considering it's coming from you pig-boy!" Ranma shouted back, which only served to make Ryoga angrier.  
Ryoga increased his rate of fire, which forced Ranma to dodge the rays even faster. A car, a street lamp, and numerous other objects blinked out of existence in this universe and blinked in in another.  
'Damn,' he thought. 'I need to separate this box from Ryoga before I get hit. It probably wouldn't be a good idea for me to smash it, it being a universe thingie after all.'  
He dodged yet another ray, and quickly sped towards Ryoga as fast as he could go. Ryoga was startled for a second, which was all Ranma needed in order to take the box away from him.  
"Hey, give that back!" Ryoga protested.  
"No way! I ain't giving you the opportunity to send me to another universe!" Ranma shouted back.  
He examined the box while fending off Ryoga. It had were many buttons, dials, and sliders, on the top, some of which he understood, like 'Fire' and 'Self-Destruct'. There were many others that he didn't understand though, like 'Push the button, Max!' and '20% Cooler'.  
'What the hell is this?' wondered Ranma.  
"Take this!" Ryouga shouted. "Bakusai Tenketsu!"  
He jabbed a finger at Ranma who, though startled out of his reverie, dodged it. Unfortunately, it connected with the Universe Shifter™.  
SHLOOOOWHUMPKASHAT!  
The Bakusai Teneketsu did its job perfectly. The Universe Shifter™ shattered into many pieces. Which also exploded. In Ranma's face.  
There was much pain. Ranma's vision started to perderbulate and waver wildy. He felt his body shift and twist, was everywhere at once, and yet nowhere at all. He started to lose the feelings in his toes. Then his feet, his legs, until he couldn't feel anything anymore, just floating silently amongst a sea of...blackness...

Ranma came to slowly, opening his eyes to a hot sun beating down on him, and groaned. Where was he? Last thing he remembered was the explosion...  
The explosion!  
God, that had HURT! He had no idea that he would be subjected to THAT! It was one of those things that you didn't think about until it happened. Like death...  
'This is just great,' thought Ranma sourly. 'Just my luck to get thrown into another universe. Is there somebody up there, who watches what's going on with my life, and presses a button called "Screw Saotome" whenever it thinks something is about to go down?'  
Of course there was.  
'But that's not my main problem. Damn you Ryoga! How the hell am I going to get back? The thing that sent me to wherever I am now is destroyed. I might be here for a LONG while, unless I can find someone to make me another universe thingie.'  
Speaking of which...where was he anyways?  
Ranma looked around. He was surrounded by hills, which seemed to be full of green grass and flowers. They swayed slightly in the air of a nice, cool breeze, which Ranma's nose twitched in response to.  
Waitwaitwait a moment. _Twitched?_  
Ranma slowly shifted his eyes down to look at his nose.  
"W-what? Is that a mouse's nose?"  
It was. He could tell, as he'd had mice steal food from him before on Genma's training trip. He could even see the whiskers!  
This was impossible! Inconceivable!  
"Could it be...no way..."  
He looked down at his body. Though he was still dressed in his Chinese clothes, they were filled with flesh that did not belong to a human. For one thing, his entire body was covered with brown fur. His hands looked mostly the same... but now they had small claws on his fingers. And somehow...he could feel a something beneath his butt. A tail, perhaps? What was he now?  
Some sort of mouse-person from a Disney movie.  
"Oh god no. Why did it also have to be a monster morphing machine? It's bad enough that I turn into a girl when splashed with water, but now I'm some sort of rodent too?"  
Ranma stood up slowly and shakily, still unused to the sensation of having a tail.  
"I'm going to be the laughing stock of Nerima when I get back. IF I get back!"  
A certain piglet was going to experience great pain.

In another universe...  
"ATCHOOO!" sneezed a black piglet.

Ranma, meanwhile, decided to get his bearings. He marched to the top of a nearby hill, and scanned the area.  
In the north, he could see some sort of structure in the distance. To his left was a forest, and marshlands, the latter not something he wished to cross if he could help it. To his right was a sea...fat chance that he would cross THAT! And to the south? Just plains as far as the eye could see.  
Nowhere he recognized.  
'It still looks like I'm on good 'ol Earth though. No weird alien trees, or green seas, or other crap like that. Maybe I wasn't sent to another universe after all,' Ranma thought happily. 'This will be less of a hassle than I thought it would be.'  
Of course, he would be visiting the structure, but only once he got a little more accustomed to his new body. It would be great to have decent shelter, and find out more about the area he was located in from its inhabitants (if there were any. He was going to need some sort of disguise to hide his mousey body though). However, his safety was more important. His body was a little shorter than what he was used to, and he had a lighter frame. This would only have a slight impact on the timing of his attacks, but that was still more than enough. Someone else might think that it would be just fine, but in this unknown place, in this unknown body, it could be the difference between life and death. And Ranma had no intention of dying.  
'I might as well start practicing,' he mused. 'as I'm not going anywhere right now. That forest would be a great place to get used to my new body.'  
And so, the boy-turned mouse walked down into the forest.

"PAAAAAAAAAH!" Ranma roared.  
For the past day and a half, Ranma had been training relentlessly. It had been harder to train his new body than he had anticipated, especially with that new tail of his. He wouldn't let that stop him though. Fortunately, it seemed that his conditioning had carried over somewhat; he could still lift boulders, do many pushups, and so on. Unfortunately, his ability to use ki had been greatly diminished. Being a mouse rather than a human had thrown him off quite badly, since while they were both _living_ things, they were two different _kinds_ of living things. He had been rather put out when he found out he could no longer perform the Moko Takabisha, and so meditation was now a major part of his retraining.  
Currently, he was finishing up an advanced kata, which in this exercise, ended with him punching a tree with a ki-enhanced fist. It was blasted apart, and sent a hail of woodchips everywhere; he landed on the branch of a nearby tree, and grimaced. His lighter frame meant that he was still able to move as fast and jump as high as he normally could, despite his slight decrease in height. Unfortunately, that meant his power would be lacking as well. Which also meant that his female form would be even weaker. And his control over his ki still sucked.  
'Dammit! Why do I always get the short end of the exchange?,' complained Ranma. 'It's going to be a pain to fight like this! And I can barely even focus enough ki to shatter a tree!'  
The sun started to set. It was the end of his second day here, and Ranma was feeling a little uneasy. Usually, he attracted trouble wherever he was, within a short timeframe. He was waiting for the proverbial hammer to drop, and land him into yet another mess.  
'Ah, whatever. I'd better eat something before all the sunlight is gone.'  
He then leaped to a tree which held all the food he had managed to forage: lots of nuts and berries. It also served as his place to sleep, though he had no problem sleeping on the ground, as his senses would wake him up in the event of a threat to his wellbeing. There was a small stream nearby, and with the greatest of difficulties, managed to drink from it without any water splashing on him and activating his curse.  
As Ranma ate his foraged food, he mind turned to the possibility that he _was_ in another world. He was certain that he was on Earth...but not one hundred percent sure. If he was in another world, then what would it's inhabitants be like? Would they be similar to humans? Maybe large insects? Who knew?  
His mind caught on a thought, and he choked. If there were large cats here...  
Ryoga was in for more than just pain.  
Ranma was just finishing his food, when his eyes caught movement. He watched a few drops of water head towards his face, as if they were moving in slow motion. He managed to avoid them just in time.  
"Damn," Ranma said, "that was close."  
His eyes caught more movement, and he involuntarily turned his head towards the sky.  
"Why me?" he muttered, and was pelted with many cold raindrops.

The water didn't let up. It kept coming and coming and coming. Such a fierce storm!  
A mousemaid whose fur was tinged red (though you couldn't tell in the cold, dark rain) tried to take shelter under the trees, but really, it was a lost cause. It was most certainly better than out in the open though. The torrential buckets were much worse out there.  
Ranma shivered. There was really nothing she could do, except weather the storm and hope that she came out of it all right.  
The one thing good that she could honestly say about her situation was that this form didn't seem to have breasts the way a human female did. Which meant that she would have less problems when fighting in the female gender. She started to wonder about mice having breasts, then immediately squelched the thought, and threw it out into the gutter.  
God, was it cold.

Close to dawn, the rain slowly let up, then stopped altogether. At this point, Ranma was willing to brave any unknown building if it meant she would be warm. And have food. And have a hot bath to change back into a male. She wearily started trudging towards the direction of the building she had seen, doing exercises along the way to get her blood running.  
'Aw, crap,' though Ranma, as she neared it, walking onto a beach. 'It looks like some kind of fortress.'  
That was never a good sign; such people always had some sort of evil designs. Genma had come across at least three of them on  
their training trips. Always they were oppressing townsfolk or some other sort of crap like that. If she had been older, she probably have tried to help. Genma himself was too busy trying to con the landlords.  
Dawn broke. As she walked on the beach, the sun's rays bursted on gray clouds, producing a nice, soft, peach effect. The nearby sea changed its colors, from dark blue to turquoise, its waves producing cream-colored foam. Ranma was awestruck by the sight, and so missed two individuals hiding behind a nearby stony outcrop.  
As Ranma rounded the structure, she noticed some activity happening near the top. She looked up, and what she saw caused her to utter the words, "Aw, crap."  
It was confirmed for her before her very own eyes that she was in a completely different world, and not Earth as she'd thought. This was because she saw another mouse like her, though a young male one to her mousey eyes, tied to two posts. And it sickened her.  
From the looks of it, the mouse had been had been left out all night in the rain. He looked very battered, which caused Ranma to be filled with rage. Who the hell had done this!?  
There was a rather large rat, who swiftly appeared on the scene,  
attempting to feed the mouse something, which the mouse spat right back in the rat's face. The rat stumbled backwards, then apparently said something, as it pointed at the sky. Ranma turned to see what it was pointing at when she saw a horrible sight.  
Humongous seagulls and gannets.  
Oh god. She had once seen an Alfred Hitchcock movie called 'The Birds' in Hinako's English class, and had had nightmares for weeks after. If those birds had been as big...  
'There's no way I'm gonna let those birds eat him. No way in hell,' thought Ranma furiously. She looked around, and picked up a rock off the sand. She was about to throw it at a diving seagull when she heard a wild, earsplitting screech:  
SCHKEEEEEEEEER!  
The gull broke off from its dive. Ranma was confused. She knew about imitating the cries of predators to scare off potential scavengers, another skill learned during the training trip. But who was doing it?  
The screech sounded again. The gulls and gannets flew this way and that way in confusion, no one daring to get in the sights of a great hunting eagle.  
Once again the screech came, somehow sounding angrier than the last one. That was all it took for them to disperse and head for safer parts.  
Ranma was impressed. She scanned the horizon looking for the brave soul who saved the poor mouse, but to no avail. The screech sounded like it came from everywhere.  
A kittiwake who had arrived late to the party spotted the mouse and dived, but the screech was sounded, and it took off like a rocket. Ranma, having seen enough, decided to rescue the mouse. She still had enough control over her ki to jump to the top of the wall. Hopefully. It would be a very difficult, as they were pretty high. But she'd managed before, and even though she wasn't yet used to her body, she couldn't leave the mouse to his fate.  
'I'm supposed to protect the weak, dammit! On my pride as a martial artist!' said Ranma to herself.  
The rat from before left, and shortly returned, this time holding a fish attached to a rope. That would surely bring the birds in, even with the screech from before. Ranma prepared to throw her stone, and then make her rescue attempt.  
Fried rat was on the menu tonight.


End file.
